American Horse Council sheds light on ELD mandate at 2018 APHA Convention

American Horse Council representative Bryan Brendle shared news about the Electronic Logging Device mandate—along with the greater horse industry and AHC’s efforts in Washington—with attendees at the 2018 APHA Convention.

The agricultural community received a minor ELD enforcement reprieve until March 17; the AHC has also requested a one-year exemption on behalf of the horse industry that is still in the works—they are partnering with other livestock organizations to make that request.

Preliminarily, AHC met with the United States Department of Transportation in January 2018 to voice the horse industry’s concerns over the ELD mandate guidelines. On Feb. 21, DOT released two guidance documents that shed more light on the rule as it pertained to horses and agriculture. They also opened a comment section on their site and put out a call for questions and concerns, which will be used to develop a frequently asked question document. AHC expects 85% of the horse industry to be exempt from the ELD requirement once final clarifications are made.

“We’re determined at the AHC to continue working on this issue,” Bryan said.

Bryan mentioned the importance of researching these regulations from official sources—USDOT or AHC, for instance—rather than relying on hearsay via social media. AHC is committed to developing additional resources for horse owners in light of these and other regulations.